Three Stars
by M2DISF0NCTI0N
Summary: Minato knew he should've been a better father, but he didn't know it would come back to haunt him like this. Neglected!Naruto Dark!Naruto.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (or Black Panther)**

He didn't know where he went wrong. Perhaps it was that damn prophecy, perhaps it was some damn oversight, or perhaps he was just a terrible father. One thing for sure was that Minato Namikaze had completely screwed up in raising his eldest son, Naruto. Kami knew Minato tried his best in raising his son, he did, he really did, but Naruto had to of understood the importance in Minato focusing the training of his younger siblings, the Kyuubi containers. Naruto was a smart boy, excellent grades and talented. As expected of the son of the Fourth Hokage and the former jinchuuriki container. But, were his efforts in raising Naruto not enough? Were Minato and Kushina's compliments of their son's ninja prowess not enough to satisfy? No, perhaps not. Perhaps in hindsight they shouldn't have neglected their son and now Minato stood face to face with the sight that would haunt him forever.

"You're back" Minato stated. You see, Naruto had run away in his younger years, fourteen to be precise. How a fourteen-year-old had managed to evade Minato's Anbu, he would never know. What he did know was that he had vastly underestimated his eldest. Never in a thousand years did Minato expect Naruto to reach such prodigal levels, despite being top of his class. Naruto had effectively cemented himself with the likes of Itachi, Shisui, Kakashi, hell even with the likes of Minato. All at the age of fourteen. However, reminiscing on the past would help no one, Minato needed to focus on the now. 10 years of the past would not do him any favors.

"Of course, I am, no matter how far I left from home, I told myself I would come back to right all the wrongs of the past" his son replied.

Minato internally glowered at that. It was for the greater good dammit! Minato never wanted to neglect his eldest son in favor of his younger two, he never wanted to push his son away. He just wanted to do what was best for Konoha, couldn't Naruto see that? He supposed he did, but in the end, it didn't matter to his son. He was neglected for the sake of the village, and Naruto wouldn't forgive that, no one would.

"I've heard about your escapades throughout the nation, your expeditions from village to village. You think what you're doing is right Naruto? You think murder is acceptable?" Minato seethed through gritted teeth.

Naruto chucked to himself, looking down at the ground before making eye contact with the same azure orbs as his own.

"I couldn't give a damn about what's right and what's wrong" he replied "For a decade all I've thought about was coming home, returning to Konoha to see my _dear_ mother and father whom must've missed me. Tell me father, surely you're glad to see your naughty and rebellious son." Naruto said the last sentence with mock empathy and guilt, clearly faux if his smirk had anything to indicate.

"I did my best Naruto, I did. You left this village, because of your selfishness. I know Kushina and I could've been better parents, but that's no excuse to abandon your village and turn rogue. Did you think you would just come back, welcomed like some hero? As if you didn't cause your family pain, as if you weren't labeled a traitor by every citizen in Konoha?"

The smirk never left his son's face, the wind blowing his sun kissed hair that was all too familiar to anyone that could identify a Namikaze. Naruto simply looked up at the sky, taking in the blue sky with white clouds. He closed his eyes and inhaled, taking in the aroma of the lush flowers and vegetation. He could feel the sun on his skin, he was home. Naruto opened his eyes, and looked back at his father, smile adorning his face.

"I couldn't give two damns about what these villagers think of me. I couldn't give a damn that the shinobi of this village have branded me a traitor. And most of all," Naruto's eyes then turned cold and piercing, his smile finally leaving his face, "I couldn't give a fuck if my parents died twice over of heartbreak."

Minato kept a blank stare, but he was emotionally torn with turmoil. It broke his heart that his son didn't care about Minato, or Kushina, or the village. What did ease Minato, to some extent, was that Naruto didn't mention his siblings, Menma or Mito. Perhaps he included them when he mentioned the villagers, but Minato didn't think so. Naruto could've included them by saying 'family' instead of referring to just his parents. That meant that Naruto did understand that what Minato and Kushina had done was for the best of the village, that his siblings had no hand in Naruto's neglect. Naruto was truly a smart child, and that broke Minato's heart more.

Naruto's cold stare continued, until his face visibly softened and that damned smile readorned* his face. It sent chills down Minato's spine.

Minato calmed himself and breathed, scrutinizing his son's features. Visibly he looked almost a carbon copy of Minato, the only difference was that Naruto was an inch taller, standing at 6'1, his hair lacked the bangs that Minato wore, and those three whisker marks on each side of his cheeks. What did surprise Minato was the attire his son wore. The black shinobi pants, the black fingerless gloves? That was normal. Hell, Minato could even process the black jacket mixed with a rustic orange that would still stand out like white wolf mixed amongst black. No, what surprised Minato were the black combat boots, all shinobi wore sandals, even the samurai from the Land of Iron wore a variant of sandal with their full body suit built for warmth give off the illusion they wore boots. But no, here was Naruto wearing literal combat boots. However, the most exotic feature that Minato noticed, was the neck tattoo peeking from the top of Naruto jacket. Where in Kami had his son been to after all these years? Naruto looked down to the left side of his neck where Minato eyes previously were and smiled when he made eye contact again.

"Ah, like the ink?" Naruto asked. "Here, let me show you."

Naruto promptly unzipped his jacket, revealing a black, skintight undershirt. Minato was surprised once again, most shinobi wore mesh, even Kakashi under HIS black skintight shirt. But on Naruto you couldn't see the diagonal lining of mesh. This perturbed Minato, everything about Naruto sent red flags for some reason. First the combat boots, then the peeping neck tattoo, and now a lack of mesh suit of some sort. Minato visible steeled himself when Naruto when to lift his shirt, not knowing what to expect. It wasn't until Naruto completely took off his upper shirt that Minato's eyes widened. The rest of Naruto's tattoo, it was a snarling dog holding a kunai in its mouth. That could mean only one thing, a war dog tattoo. A tattoo given to those that were masters in causing mayhem and destruction. War dogs typically infiltrated countries and destabilized them from the interior, making them masters of disguise and truly feared throughout nations. But what made Minato's blood run cold were the three red stars inked under the snarling dog. Minato had heard stories that when war dogs successfully committed mass genocide, effectively wiping out an entire village's population, they earned a red star. Here his son, his eldest, his blood, had three.

"Naruto" Minato choked "what- "

"Do you like them?" Naruto cut him off, smiling as he knew what his father was referring too. "I hope you do, I worked _really_ hard for them after all" his son said nonchalantly as if such a thing was something a parent should be proud of. He gave a quick glance to his stars before looking up at his father "you know, it's not as easy as it looks. They don't go around giving you stars for wiping out just any village. There are requirements, the village must have a decent defense force, and they must have a population of at least 10,000. You can't just eliminate _any_ run-down village that wield pitchforks and call them weapons and then tell yourself "I deserve a star!"" Naruto's eyes turned half lidded and a small smirk appeared on his face, unnerving his father and making him feel like vomiting his entire innards at his next and blood chilling sentence.

"Otherwise I'd have about 50..." his son whispered in a soft voice, his previous features never leaving his face.

"WHY?!" Minato yelled with fury "How could you do such a thing. Take so many lives?! Innocent lives?!"

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Come now Dad, innocent? I think it would be highly illogical to believe that _every_ person I've killed was innocent. I mean have you taken a notice at their politicians? They lie to their people and rob them under their noses, assuring them that everything is fine. Absolutely evil bastards, I'd say that's more despicable than what I've done!" Naruto replied in a merry, child-like voice.

"Is this just a game to you?! Do you feel no remorse for what you've done? How could you even think about doing this?" Minato seethed.

Naruto turned serious. Minato kept a cool face, but he was inwardly disturbed. How did his son switch from persona to persona? As if it were natural?

"Because I was paid to? No, because they wronged me as well? No that's not it" Naruto said. Naruto pouted his lips and looked from left to right as if in thought. He repeated these gestures for about 10 seconds before he decided that he'd prolonged the moment long enough. "In all honesty father…because I could. Who could stop me? At first it was only one star, but the thrill, the rush, the excitement. It was all too much, too much for just one time. Before I knew it, I eliminated two villages, and finally I eliminated three. That's why, father, I did what I did."

Minato was horrified. He didn't think that his son would commit such atrocities. He thought his son would- Minato blinked. What _had_ he thought? That his son, who ran away at fourteen would come back the same as ever? That his son, who was branded a rogue in all but officiality. The only thing keeping him from the bingo books were the facts that Kushina wailed when she discovered his disappearance; and by not branding him an official traitor, it allowed Minato to escape his failures as a father. So, what did he expect? It was in these thoughts that Minato closed his eyes and steeled himself, knowing what he had to do. His son was no more, a monster took his place. While Minato was preparing himself mentally for what would occur next, Naruto put on his upper garments back on. Minato opened his eyes with cold calculating eyes, reaching behind to his back pocket, and pulled out a three-pronged kunai knife. What happened next would haunt him forever, if he lived that long. Naruto smiled and disappeared in a flicker, before reappearing before his father. Minato's eyes widened with shock and, if looked upon closely by a skilled reader such as a Yamanaka, fear.

"What's wrong father, aren't you going to show me the power of the Flying Thunder God? Aren't you going to rid yourself of your war dog son and ultimately save the ninja world in the process? Aren't you going to do what's best for Konoha?" he mocked.

"H-How? How did you- "his father stuttered.

Naruto laughed.

"Oh dad" Naruto's eyes softened, and a small smile adorned his face. "I'm a war dog. And a little secret…" Naruto leaned in towards his father and whispered, "this isn't the first time I've been back to the Hidden Leaf since my departure."

Minato was taken aback.

"When?" Minato whispered his question, still in awe at his son's speed that shouldn't have been humanly possible. Such speed was reserved for only a few in existence. The Fourth Raikage, who utilized his lightning armor, the late Second Hokage, Tobirama, whom created The Flying Thunder God technique, and of course Minato himself, who perfected the technique. There was no one else who should posses such speed, how did Naruto- Minato's eyes widened.

"You..." he whispered.

Naruto grinned.

"Me…"

Minato felt his life leaving him.

"It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that. If one thing Konoha has, it's excellent defense resources. It wasn't a problem for me, naturally, as I managed to escape at only fourteen, plus I had three years to enhance my trade when I travelled from city to city, village to village, nation to nation. But, nonetheless, I infiltrated the village and infiltrated our home when all of you were asleep. I have to say I'm disappointed father, I thought you would have security measures to alert you if anyone managed to sneak in. Instead it was all too easy. My initial plan was to raid your library and steal the scroll for the FTG technique and take off as fast at my skills could take me, but when I realized nothing stood in my way, all I had to do was simply copy the scroll and place it back as if no one had come in the first place. The perfect infiltration for a shinobi, wouldn't you say?"

"B-but, there are no seals, you don't have a kunai. How have you managed to teleport?!" Minato yelled his last question in surprise, anger, and anxiety.

"Please father" Naruto said smoothly "you didn't think you had perfected the technique, did you? First rule of shinobi techniques, always assume it can be made better in some shape or form. Tsk tsk, becoming Hokage has made you lax old man. It was difficult though, took me five years to perfect, even with shadow clones. However, when I did perfect it without the need for seals, I knew I would be unstoppable. That's when I knew it was time."

Naruto flickered out of sight and reappeared 10 feet away.

"I've killed people in The Land of Iron, The Land of Lightning, The Land of Waves, Water, Wind, Stone. I've killed my own brothers here from the Land of Fire, all just to get here. To get my revenge, to get to you."

Naruto dropped into a battle stance and pulled out a kunai from his back pocket.

"Come now Minato" Naruto said in a low voice "show me the power of the Fourth Hokage."

He flickered out of sight.

Minato saw his life flash before his eyes. He foolishly pushed away this prodigy, this warrior from The Hidden Leaf Village. A shinobi that would've been the village's strongest. A shinobi to protect the village and its people. All for what? For some prophecy, a prophecy in which his two youngest, who held the Kyuubi, were supposed to become shinobi of legend. They were powerful, they had reached Kage level status. But their power was nothing compared to his eldest, his son, his Naruto. He could only hope that his son would show mercy upon the village and stop his path upon Minato's death.

Naruto flickered back into existence, swiping his kunai in a swift-right motion.

' _Naruto, my son, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I love you._ '

 **Hope you guys enjoy this. The reason I credited Black Panther in the title is because I got the idea from the scene where Killmonger challenges T'Challa. There is no other correlation, Naruto doesn't have Killmonger's backstory and he hasn't been to Wakanda. I just really liked that scene and got inspiration for this.**

 **Now, initially this is just supposed to be a oneshot, but I will have a poll in my bio to see if anyone wants me to create a real story from this. Call me a sucker for angst, but I really like stories where Naruto is neglected for his siblings because his siblings are the jinchuuriki. The only problem is that most stories have bad writing. I always wanted to read a story where Naruto feels neglected, but not overly so. I mean forgetting that your child exists seems extremely farfetched, so I wrote a hopefully semi realistic approach where they still show him semi love, but its not even close to the love they show his younger siblings.**

 ***I'm not sure if readorned is a word. I've seen it multiple times on fanfiction and it makes sense to be a word, but Word 2010 doesn't consider it to be real. I checked online and there does seem to be sites that consider it a word, so I just used it.**

 **Again, vote or simply leave a review if you think I should write a full backstory to this or just leave this as a oneshot :)**

 **-Brandon**


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